


All Alone in the Moonlight

by TheTurtleFromHell



Category: Castlevania (Cartoon), 悪魔城ドラキュラ | Castlevania Series
Genre: Father-Son Relationship, Fluff and Angst, Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-15
Updated: 2018-03-15
Packaged: 2019-03-31 21:40:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,922
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13983858
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheTurtleFromHell/pseuds/TheTurtleFromHell
Summary: Vlad loved and cared for Adrian, as any father should.Now, Dracula watches his son fight his way through the castle.





	All Alone in the Moonlight

Dracula stares at the mirror, watching the trio make their way through the castle with an unreadable expression. The one he is watching more than the others is his own son, Adrian, who acts as their guide and tends to any injuries his comrades receive.

His eyebrows furrow then, deep in thought…

 

* * *

 

 

_ “Papa! Papa! Come quick, please!” _

_ As soon as he heard his four year old son screaming for him at the top of his lungs, Vlad rushed outside, finding his son hunched over in the bushes. _

_ “Adrian! What’s wrong!?” he asks, kneeling by his side and looking over him for injuries. _

_ “Look!” Adrian cried, holding up his hands to reveal a small injured pigeon, “It’s hurt!” _

_ Vlad breathed a sigh of relief, looking a little annoyed at his son making such a fuss over a simple bird, “It happens sometimes, Adrian. Just put it down and let nature take its-” _

_ “No!” Adrian cried, shaking his head as tears ran down his cheek, “We need to help it, Papa! Please!” _

_ Vlad looked at his son for a moment, before looking to the injured pigeon. It was covered in gashes and bites, likely from a cat, its breathing was strained and heavy, meaning a lung had likely been punctured and it had no chance of survival. _

_ But his son was still looking at him with wide, sad eyes, with such a hopeful look on his face, and that was what ultimately what made Vlad give in. _

_ “Alright…” he nodded, “Let’s see what we can do.” _

 

_ Adrian sat at the table all day, watching the pigeon intently. Vlad had disinfected the injuries and bandaged them, and lined an old box with a rag for it to stay in. _

_ Adrian had fussed over it all day, talking to it and promising it would get better, had even given it a bowl of water for it to drink from. _

_ Then his son began to yawn and rub his eyes. _

_ “It’s getting late.” Vlad said, placing a hand on his son’s shoulder, “Why don’t you go and rest, then you can check on him in the morning?” _

_ “But what if he needs something…?” Adrian protested, eyes already fluttering shut. _

_ “I’ll take care of it, don’t you worry.” Vlad assured, picking his son up and taking him to bed. _

 

_ “Papa! The bird is all better! Lookit! Lookit!” Adrian shouted excitedly, holding up the box so his father could see. The pigeon was looking around confused, unable to fly due to the bandages wrapped around it. _

_ “I see.” Vlad assured, ruffling his son’s hair, “How about you go outside and let it go? I’m sure it would like to get back to flying and being free.” _

_ “Aw, alright…” Adrian sighed, heading outside to release his little friend back into the wild. Vlad waited until the door closed, before heading into his room and pulling open his desk drawer, taking out the corpse of the pigeon and thinking how lucky he was that his son hadn't noticed the different markings. _

 

* * *

 

 

Perhaps one of the greatest things Adrian displayed was the duality of both his sides.

At one point, the scholar had been knocked down by a lycan, which prepared to deal a final blow to her.

But Adrian stepped in front of her, raising a hand up to catch that clawed hand and ripping it off with supernatural strength, fatally injuring the beast and turning it to ash. 

He then turned to the scholar, and with the same hand gently helped her up and made sure she was uninjured.

It was the sight of that hand which brought back another memory...

 

* * *

 

 

_ Vlad looked up as he heard the bedroom door creak open, followed by the sound of a six year old’s little feet sneaking across the floor. Smiling, he pretended to still be engrossed in his work as the footsteps grew closer. _

_ “Got you!” Adrian giggled, jumping up onto his father’s back and covering his eyes with his small hands. _

_ “Oh no, tiny hands.” Vlad chuckled, “My only weakness.” _

_ Adrian smiled happily, removing his hands and peering over his father’s shoulders, “What are you doing?” _

_ “I’m studying the effects of lavender as a disinfectant for injuries.” Vlad explained as he looked double-checked his data once more. _

_ “What does that mean?” Adrian asked, tilting his head confused. _

_ “It means that I want to study this plant,” he explained as he picked up a lavender and handed it to his son, “And see if I can use it to clean somebody’s injury.” _

_ Adrian inspected the flower for a moment, before looking back up at his father, “How will it do that?” _

_ “That’s a good question.” Vlad says as he picks up yet another paper with his studies and looks over it, “I believe using it in an oil form works best, but I’d have to run more tests.” _

_ “You’re really smart.” Adrian complimented, putting the lander down, “I want to be smart like you when I grow up.” _

_ “You will be, trust me.” Vlad smiles, picking up his son and sitting him in his lap, “Perhaps you’ll be even smarter than me someday.” _

 

* * *

 

 

A beaker is thrown across the room, shattering as it hits the wall and covering the floor in glass shards.

There’s barely anything left in the room that has survived Dracula’s wrath since the death of his wife, his temper all too short these days.

He’s breathing heavily, sinking to his knees as blood tears run down his cheeks.

Why? Why does his son have to make things so difficult? Why didn’t he join his father, the only family he had left?

When had they grown so far apart?

 

* * *

 

 

_ Vlad dropped his bag on the table with a loud thud, crossing his arms and looking down at his ten year old son, who was too absorbed in a book on the living room floor to notice the noise. _

_ “Adrian.” Vlad began, “I heard from the townsfolk that they’ve been seeing a white wolf in the woods again. Do you mind telling me what that’s about?” _

_ Adrian flinched in response as he heard his father, but still didn’t look up, “I… How should I know?” _

_ “Don’t play stupid, Adrian!” Vlad scolded, “I thought your mother and I both told you not to shapeshift anymore!” _

_ “But I don’t get it!” Adrian yells as he slams his book down, standing up quickly and causing his chair to fall over, “Why do we have to change so that they can keep being stupid!? Why does it have to be us!? Why can’t they be the ones to change!?” he argues, “Why can’t I just do what I want!?” _

_ “Because,” Vlad hisses, “I do not want to find my son’s corpse full of arrows and skinned by some hunter! No shapeshifting, and that’s final!” _

_ “But that’s not fair!” Adrian protests, tears starting to run down his cheeks. _

_ “Life isn’t fair!” Vlad retorts, “No shapeshifting! Do you understand, young man!?” _

_ Adrian simply makes a frustrated noise in reply, turning around and stomping off to his room. _

_ “Adrian Fahrenheit Tepes, do  _ _ not _ _ walk away from me while I’m talking to you!” Vlad yells as he follows his son, only to be met with a door being slammed in his face.  _

_ Scoffing angrily, he went back to the table, untying his bag and aggressively unpacking it, all while mumbling to himself that the servants back at the castle never gave him such trouble when he scolded them. Why, they’d be on their knees begging for forgiveness before he even had time to raise his voice! _

_ Suddenly, his sensitive ears twitched as they picked up on the sound of crying. _

_ Adrian’s crying. _

_ The sound causes him to freeze momentarily, before turning to look at the door with a softening expression. _

_ Slowly, he raises his hand to clutch at his chest, where he can feel his undead heart aching for his child. _

 

* * *

 

 

Taking a deep breath, Dracula wipes away his tears, before speaking his order, “Focus your main efforts on Adrian. If he does not listen to any reasoning…” he pauses, his throat becoming dry as he struggles to finish his sentence, “Then do what you must…”

He didn’t need to shout his order, or use any sort of spell to broadcast it across the castle The castle’s inhabitants just knew, and intended to carry out the command.

Dracula looked back at the mirror, where he could see that Adrian and his companions found a room to rest in, taking the chance to eat a quick meal before continuing their journey.

Why could Adrian understand…? If he just stopped fighting, just stopped to listen to his father, then he could see that this was for the best.

Without humanity, the Earth could become a paradise for them. Adrian could shapeshift, could run freely, would have no need to suppress his urges or be concerned about what others thought of him, for he would be their prince, the son of their savior. Why couldn’t he see that?

Dracula scoffed as he went back to the throne room, sitting down on his throne and watching the doors.

As he closed his eyes, intending to rest before the battle, he could only hope his son would change his mind before he came through those doors.

 

* * *

 

 

_ “Are you sure you have enough for the trip?” Vlad frets, “Because you know, things can go wrong.” _

_ “Papa, I-” _

_ “You could get caught in a rainstorm, or someone could steal your things while you aren’t looking.” _

_ “Papa-” _

_ “Or you could get stuck in a ditch and-” _

_ “Papa!” Adrian finally interjects, “I’ll be fine, I have enough supplies to last me two months, let alone one.” _

_ “Still…” Vlad says as one final protest, “If something goes wrong, I just think you ought to be prepared.” _

_ “But I am, after all you’re the one who raised me to be so insightful.” Adrian says as he makes sure everything is tied down and that the horse’s reins are properly tied, “Unless you’re doubting you raised me right.” _

_ “I inferred no such thing.” Vlad huffs as he crosses his arms. _

_ “Then there’s nothing to worry about.” Adrian smiles confidently. _

_ Vlad sighs in defeat, looking at the road ahead.  _

_ They were just outside of Targoviste, and now the path split off into two opposite directions, Vlad had been planning a trip to the coastal markets, while Adrian was planning to visit a small mountain village which had been suffering a plague, to offer any help and healing he could.  _

_ They both told Lisa to stay safe and made sure she was all set for the time they’d be gone, before heading off. _

_ “Alright then.” Adrian said as he patted the horse’s back, “I should get going.” _

_ “Already?” Vlad looked at him bewildered. _

_ “Yes.” Adrian nods, “I’d like to find an inn before nightfall. The roads get dangerous once the sun sets. It’s easy to get lost, not to mention the robbers and scum who come out from their hiding places.” _

_ “Now who’s the one acting concerned.” Vlad chuckled, “By the way, I take offense to the ‘scum’ part.” _

_ “You know what I meant.” Adrian laughed, “Well, goodbye Papa. Safe travels.” _

_ “To you as well.” Vlad replied, kissing his son’s forehead, “I love you.” _

_ “Love you too.” Adrian smiled, before getting into the saddle of his horse and riding off with Vlad watching until his son disappeared from view. _

_ Both of them were completely unaware that the next time they’d meet, it would not be as father and son, but as enemies. _

**Author's Note:**

> Hooray! I'm not dead!  
> A lot of stuff came up but now it's mostly out of the way, so expect a lot more fics in the future, thank y'all for being so patient!! <3  
> (also yes, the title is based on that song from the Cats musical)


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